Openers Aaron Briggs and Jamie Seward put on 60 for the first wicket, before the latter was dismissed for 38, which included five fours and a six. Wicketkeeper Briggs went on the make 45, while Marc Thompson made 39 as Sulhamstead were eventually dismissed for 203 after 38.4 overs.

Wasim Choudary (pictured) was the pick of Grosvenor’s bowlers with five for 39 from 10 overs.

Muhammad Shakeel, meanwhile, took three for 47 while Ehtsham Iqbal claimed two wickets.

In response, Grosvenor suffered an early blow when captain Talat Nawaz was out for a duck, bowled by Sulhamstead skipper Matthew Gill.

He was one of four players to not get off the mark and it was wicketkeeper Saqib Bhatti who top scored with just 20. The accurate Palmer proved the main menace with the ball, and he was backed up by Gill and Sanjay Dove who each took two wickets.

Gill said: “We were disappointed at the end of the first innings because we collapsed from 156 for three to 203 all out.

“So we gave Grosvenor an extra six overs.

“But we bowled pretty well and Craig was excellent.”

He added: “We’re still in the mix (for the title).

“As champions we put more pressure on ourselves and we’ve got a chance of winning again.

“We had a loss and a losing draw at the start of the season so if we’d won one of those we’d have been in a better position.”

Divisions 2, 3 and 4

There was an unusual occurrence in the league on Saturday as two games ended as ties – both involving Shinfield teams.

Shinfield first XI’s game with Sulhamstead & Ufton 2 ended all square with both sides dismissed for 143 in Division 2.

Prashant Gandhi took four wickets to help bowl out Sulhamstead after 42.1 overs.

Shinfield then matched the score in response after 41 overs to end with a share of the spoils.

Stephen Collins was the pick of the bowlers with three for 21.

Shinfield 2 were also involved in a tie with Bradfield 2 in Division 4.

The latter were put in to bat and made 167 for seven after 45 overs.

Shinfield crumbled to 67 for five and looked to be heading for defeat, only for Shamil Mohammed Ali and Adam Aust to stabilise the innings.

Ali eventually made 48, while Aust hit 43 and with the help of 37 extras, Shinfield reached 167 before Abhishek Adavikolanu was bowled by David Brown to leave the game all-square.

Earley held on for a losing draw against Mortimer West End 2 in Division 2.

Skipper Neil Storkey hit 79 as Mortimer posted 225 for seven in their 45 overs. Danny Luis led the bowling attack, claiming four wickets, while Steven Mapes took two for 25.

Earley struggled with their batting, as Owen Bye (39) and Luis (30) making the only real scores of note.